The Homeless and Inclusion Health Service Standards for Commissioners and Service Providers (i.e. ‘The Standards’) draw upon evidence of best practice and provide quality assurance for supporting vulnerable and excluded patients with multiple and complex needs, commonly referred to as inclusion health patients. 

Commissioning and providing homeless health services requires an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the patients being supported, the healthcare environment, social care facilities and community services. The Standards have been written to support: 

• Commissioners within Local Authorities and CCGs 
• Public Health officials 

• Health and Wellbeing Boards 
• Officers with responsibility for JSNAs 
• Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) 
• Accountable Care Systems (ACS)
• Councillors and MPs seeking to ensure their areas provide the best care 
• Providers of services to inclusion health groups 

The Standards are multidisciplinary, including guidance for Primary Care, Secondary Care, Community Services and oral health. They are applicable to any service working with vulnerable patients, but particularly those specialising in the care of: 

• Patients who are homeless 
• People who sell sex 
• Vulnerable migrants 
• People from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities 

Patients who are disadvantaged and multiply excluded often have complex physical and mental health needs, but face barriers to health and social care. A report published in The Lancet in 2017 showed that people in this situation face mortality rates ten times higher than the rest of the population. 

To offer the best chance of recovery, most patients will require specialist multi-agency support, underpinned by a full understanding of the integrations between health, social care and community services. 

There is an increasing wealth of knowledge about Inclusion Health best practice – the most effective way of providing the support this vulnerable patient group need.  This has been amassed through professionals working in the field, researchers studying in this area, and from people with lived experience of exclusion who are willing to share their unique insights. 

The Standards utilise the knowledge of all three groups, ensuring that they reflect the clinical, social and interpersonal needs of patients – a ‘whole person’ approach to care. 

The Faculty for Homeless and Inclusion Health compiles the standards based upon evidence and practice from members across multiple disciplines, current research, and the lived experience of excluded people. 

Version 3 of the Standards has been endorsed by a range of Royal Colleges, including the Royal College of Physicians and the College of Medicine. 

The Standards are known to have been used to inform the development of JSNAs for inclusion health services in Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as public health approaches across Scotland. 

You can access the standards below.